No gig time projects!

[Adam Burgess]

It's Ramadan in the UAE so not many gigs about.

So, doing some general housekeeping with the computers and keyboards. Passing on or throwing some stuff.

Decided to 'Pimp my Triton pro'. Was a gift when a friend of mine left the country. It had been on his balcony for 8 years.

Luckily in a nice SKB case. Paint is horrible, the LEDs have kinda melted. But, keyboard, audio, and keyboard, and some buttons are fine! Still sounds like a Triton. Used it on a few gigs to make sure that audio-wise it's fine.

Bought a 61 immediately in 1999 with SCSI card and a ZIP drive… and, I do miss my Extreme (serial 0000925!), so why not give this one a little help on it's journey? I like the Triton! I have the software version - but the keyboard still feels better than my new Arturia 61.

My usual taxi driver knows a guy who can respray it. Really fancy very mirror-like or brushed Aluminium silver. Black buttons and joystick etc. I did think of making it a bit Kronos-like, but the silver is what a Triton is.

Today I ordered a few new black keys, some blue LEDs for the buttons, some new tact switches for the actual buttons which are hit and miss. Especially the frequently used COMBI, PROG, and WRITE etc…

Other things:

USB Floppy emulator as the drive is totally screwed

Gonna cut a channel out just behind the keys and do an LED strip behind some acrylic illuminating the keys

New aluminium black knobs

Some nice, simple wooden cheeks to replace the cracked bits of stuff hanging off the thing at the mo. Original ones are either out of stock or stupid expensive. 

Just awaiting Amazon and a couple of local couriers to drop things off. 

Shall return in a week (actually have a nice gig tomorrow!) and post some real life pics to see if the Photoshop can be realised!

And then I will get on to the Kronos rack! 

[Adam Burgess]

Think I'll do this in the same shiny silver/black controls and I think it'll be a nice little pairing with the Triton.

Debating which buttons I actually need, and which ones I can use the encoder and slider for.

[AUSSIEKEYS]

Interested to see your progress.

[Adam Burgess]

Progress almost started this morning. Cleverly, I put the key springs in a 'safe place' so I wouldn't lose them… not a sign of the little beasts.

And the replacement keys - still 'as new' in Yamaha packaging - must've been on a hot shelf for years. One crumpled to bits in my hand!

Should have got some spares. And, is $15USD too much for one key? Seems like it.

Will send the case to be sprayed tomorrow - that's the exciting bit.
And I'll get on with the boring job of soldering about 80 switch contacts… And look for those key springs!

New LEDs are on the back of a bike somewhere in the ether somewhere. New knobs will be here in a few days from the US.

[Rod S]

On 4/15/2022 at 8:25 AM, Adam Burgess said:

Think I'll do this in the same shiny silver/black controls and I think it'll be a nice little pairing with the Triton.

Debating which buttons I actually need, and which ones I can use the encoder and slider for.

 

 

Curious about this - are you planning to create a separate control surface with the Kronos sliders (a la the Roland PGs)?.   Or just have the key controls on the rack? 

 

Always amazed about these projects, I have neither the guts nor skill level (and likely patience) to do these.

[Adam Burgess]

1 hour ago, Rod S said:

 

Curious about this - are you planning to create a separate control surface with the Kronos sliders (a la the Roland PGs)?.   Or just have the key controls on the rack? 

 

Always amazed about these projects, I have neither the guts nor skill level (and likely patience) to do these.

I’m really not sure! To be honest I hardly ever used the sliders live.

if I did a ‘desktop’ unit I could keep them, but quite like the idea of putting it into a rack with my Integra. Can get a local shop to make me a 4U steel case - doubt they could cheaply reproduce one like the original, and a new RH3 keybed would be around $1200US here. 

 

Just thinking about piggy-backing some front panel buttons from the boards that I need... the Triton does have 4 (wow!) knobs if I use that as a controller, or I have a couple of Arturias that I can use.

 

As for having the guts, I’ve broken enough gear to learn over the years, and learned a lot. Fixing stuff alone is a necessity where I am! Either comes back worse after three months or is stupidly expensive. Roland/Yamaha stuff etc is not allowed to be shipped here, has to be bought and that import company’s monopoly makes everything crazy.

 

The Kronos had a bad accident involving a taxi driver and it’s not worth buying a new keybed and top case, but also a shame to waste the Audio bits which work fine! Made a few dollars using some of the keybed to fix my friend’s Kronos 88, hence funding some bits for the old Triton.

 

And patience is the key. Always take lots of photos and write down every connector and color. You soon forget which way round simple things like brackets go. 

[marczellm]

A guy lent me his Clavinet in exchange for me giving it back restringed.

[drawback]

On 4/15/2022 at 4:19 AM, Adam Burgess said:

It's Ramadan in the UAE so not many gigs about.

So, doing some general housekeeping with the computers and keyboards. Passing on or throwing some stuff.

Decided to 'Pimp my Triton pro'. Was a gift when a friend of mine left the country. It had been on his balcony for 8 years.

Luckily in a nice SKB case. Paint is horrible, the LEDs have kinda melted. But, keyboard, audio, and keyboard, and some buttons are fine! Still sounds like a Triton. Used it on a few gigs to make sure that audio-wise it's fine.

Bought a 61 immediately in 1999 with SCSI card and a ZIP drive… and, I do miss my Extreme (serial 0000925!), so why not give this one a little help on it's journey? I like the Triton! I have the software version - but the keyboard still feels better than my new Arturia 61.

My usual taxi driver knows a guy who can respray it. Really fancy very mirror-like or brushed Aluminium silver. Black buttons and joystick etc. I did think of making it a bit Kronos-like, but the silver is what a Triton is.

Today I ordered a few new black keys, some blue LEDs for the buttons, some new tact switches for the actual buttons which are hit and miss. Especially the frequently used COMBI, PROG, and WRITE etc…

Other things:

USB Floppy emulator as the drive is totally screwed

Gonna cut a channel out just behind the keys and do an LED strip behind some acrylic illuminating the keys

New aluminium black knobs

Some nice, simple wooden cheeks to replace the cracked bits of stuff hanging off the thing at the mo. Original ones are either out of stock or stupid expensive. 

Just awaiting Amazon and a couple of local couriers to drop things off. 

Shall return in a week (actually have a nice gig tomorrow!) and post some real life pics to see if the Photoshop can be realised!

And then I will get on to the Kronos rack! 

I’m fascinated by this kind of a project but haven’t a clue how the repaint happens while preserving the original labelling. Or even how labels are replaced using authentic fonts and exact pt sizes. Would someone enlighten me?

[Adam Burgess]

15 hours ago, drawback said:

I’m fascinated by this kind of a project but haven’t a clue how the repaint happens while preserving the original labelling. Or even how labels are replaced using authentic fonts and exact pt sizes. Would someone enlighten me?

Don't know yet 🙂 … need to do a bit research as to the best way to do that.
Clear stickers then a finish over the top? Silk screening is expensive and not sure the locals could do a big panel like this.
Not too bothered about the font being similar, but getting sizes is easy enough.

There's not too many buttons to remember on the Triton, and I'm sure I could get by!

[Dockeys]

Escaperocks (David) on this forum would have extensive experience in this area as he’s always pimping his keys. 

[drawback]

3 hours ago, Dockeys said:

Escaperocks (David) on this forum would have extensive experience in this area as he’s always pimping his keys. 

I’ve always meant to ask him, but this topic is at hand. 😊 Maybe he’ll chime in.

[Rod S]

On 4/16/2022 at 11:32 AM, Adam Burgess said:

As for having the guts, I’ve broken enough gear to learn over the years, and learned a lot. Fixing stuff alone is a necessity where I am! Either comes back worse after three months or is stupidly expensive. Roland/Yamaha stuff etc is not allowed to be shipped here, has to be bought and that import company’s monopoly makes everything crazy.

 

 

Interesting point - I frequently vent on the availability of spare parts and experienced folks, and I have to admit that I am probably in much better shape that you at UAE (so I should stop complaining... 😀 )   We do have some really good techs here in Sao Paulo... usually the tough things is getting the spare parts, mostly due to the high import taxes /  logistics / monopolies (probably the worst aspect), but typically not any kind of prohibition.    Do miss how things were easier when I lived in the US and Europe, though!  

 

Anyways, looking forward to moving to a house next year -  where I will have space to open up gear and challenge myself to some DIY stuff myself.  

[Adam Burgess]

15 hours ago, Rod S said:

 

Interesting point - I frequently vent on the availability of spare parts and experienced folks, and I have to admit that I am probably in much better shape that you at UAE (so I should stop complaining... 😀 )   We do have some really good techs here in Sao Paulo... usually the tough things is getting the spare parts, mostly due to the high import taxes /  logistics / monopolies (probably the worst aspect), but typically not any kind of prohibition.    Do miss how things were easier when I lived in the US and Europe, though!  

 

Anyways, looking forward to moving to a house next year -  where I will have space to open up gear and challenge myself to some DIY stuff myself.  

Yes, was much easier back in the UK! There were two music shops a few minutes from each other in my nearest city. Great for getting deals going back and forth, and one had a great workshop and tech on the top floor. Also a couple of ex-Marshall amp guys around who can fix anything.

Here, not so much! Ali Express has loads of cheap electronics stuff, but it does literally come on a slow boat from China. Took around two months for some flat ribbon cables on my last order. (For a Kronos touchscreen - I don't have much luck with Korg touchscreens, so with this Triton I'm being extra extra gentle!)

Good luck with your house move and enjoy your workshop. I do find it very therapeutic soldering and stuff. And, it is a good feeling when something goes to plan!

New switches, replacement keys and blue LEDs are now installed. Nice that they're nice and big and not tiny surface mount stuff.
Need the case and plastic bits back from the painter then just have the issue of the panel graphics, which I'm still not sure of.

 

Some guys on YouTube get great results with toner transfer…
I'll have to do some practising first. Not something I've ever tried, and really don't want to mess up!

[Adam Burgess]

Well, the case and bits for the Triton are still with the paint guy. Inshallah, as they say here. It'll be done at God's will, sometime. Hopefully…

So, half took on board a suggestion here, to make the Kronos in a rack, a sort of desktop version.
I'm still gonna do the Kronos 4U rack size and thought I'd try making an Arduino-based MIDI controller to sit underneath it.

Learning PCB design for the first time. Using an Autoroute thing to get the traces around, which is totally taboo with proper engineers, but, I'm a piano player, and seems good enough for me! I've done simple MIDI stuff with Arduinos, so this is just scaling it up, I guess! Got the Arduino set up as a class-compliant MIDI device, so should(!) just work with the Kronos over USB.

Well, that's the plan! It works ok so far just stuffing wires into things. Hence, thinking I'll try ordering a PCB! Got most of the bits.
The faders and pots can come out of the Kronos boards, which will all live in the rack. Just need a couple of panels, really. I have LEDs, and loads of resistors and stuff.
Chips are still not being forthcoming, still! I do have some multiplexers rescued from the old Kronos keybed, but I'd prefer surface mount things that the PCB house can do before I get the boards back.

Also have the Fatar waterfall keyboard from a Numa Organ2 which got literally it's inside eaten by doing a gig next to the sea for a year.
Fixed a few tracks, but went laptop anyway, and was becoming really unreliable and annoying to keep opening up. So may do something with that. 

[Old No7]

On 4/16/2022 at 12:45 PM, drawback said:

I’m fascinated by this kind of a project but haven’t a clue how the repaint happens while preserving the original labelling. Or even how labels are replaced using authentic fonts and exact pt sizes. Would someone enlighten me?

 

On 4/17/2022 at 4:29 AM, Adam Burgess said:

Don't know yet 🙂 … need to do a bit research as to the best way to do that.
Clear stickers then a finish over the top? Silk screening is expensive and not sure the locals could do a big panel like this.
Not too bothered about the font being similar, but getting sizes is easy enough.

There's not too many buttons to remember on the Triton, and I'm sure I could get by!

 

Interesting -- and gutsy! -- project, good luck!

 

Here's an idea for the lettering or labels...

There are companies that support the R/C industry (radio controlled -- planes, boats, cars etc.) who do amazing work with "Dry Transfer Decals" -- the ones where you peel off the backing, place the decal, rub hard on the letter/object to "transfer" it to the surface, and then peel off the other layer of backing.  Those guys who build their own ships want very small and detailed text for authenticity, and I've read that you make up the decals on your computer -- any size or font you want -- email off or upload the file, and they will convert your file into the decals, ready to apply.

 

If I'm not mistaken, you might even check if they sell "Do It Yourself, Inkjet Dry Transfer Decals" -- that you could print yourself at home.  It's been years since I've dabbled in the R/C world -- as music & keyboards took over my life 😉 -- but something tells me those might just be available.

 

Good luck!

 

Old No7

[drawback]

I used to use Letraset all the time, pre-WYSISWG, but not for this purpose. RIght, specialty dry-transfers would be the way to go. Just looked up the dry-transfer paper and they're available at craft & hobby stores.

[zeronyne]

Dry transfers will most likely wear off even after clearcoating unless the technology has really changed since the 90s. Look into silkscreening, and Forat's ancient site may give you some inspiration with relabeling the panels.

I have a Triton Pro X that I tried to sell for years, but last year, I gave up and just pimped it with SCSI, the synth board, two extra boards, and the floppy emulator. Now it's my weighted controller with some sounds from the 90s.

[Adam Burgess]

Well, a couple of jobs done.

Until I work out a way to attach some nice wooden ones, just sprayed the broken end cheeks for now, as they're quite integral to holding everything together, unfortunately! Quite happy with the panel's paint job; seems really wear-resistant and feels great. My dodgy plastic spraying the buttons and stuff came out better than I thought it would. Will get some vinyl stuff printed for the panel text and graphics at some point when I get some time maybe next week, and have double checked all the measurements.

Having played it for a bit today, need to replace a couple more switches, and I have a few sticky keys and a few non-responsive keys. I bet I've done something moving it while it's been in my way the past few weeks. That's a job for tomorrow.And, I need a floppy emulator, too. Nothing around locally so will have to come from some civilised land, or the US 😉

Also, sent off some basic designs and a 3D attempt for a Kronos rack and controller enclosures to a friend of mine to make.

He builds far more complex stuff in his day job and says it won't be a problem, which is really cool. Looking forward to having a sort of matching pair of broken Korgs.

 

[kaptainkeys]

Nice!  The gunmetal gray combined with the black accents kinda makes it look like a Krome EX, but with a good keybed and metal build.

[Adam Burgess]

Just now, GotKeys said:

Nice!  The gunmetal gray combined with the black accents kinda makes it look like a Krome EX, but with a good keybed and metal build.

Yup! Still feels lovely to play! 

[Adam Burgess]

So, this is the next big project. Maybe start putting it all together next month.

The broken Numa Organ 2 that's sitting underneath the Triton above, is gonna turn into a 61 key organ controller.

The TP-8O keybed is still fine; was the rest of the circuit boards that are just eaten away. 

I rarely use the extra octave as presets, so they can go and I'll have a nice compact thing.

Debating whether to try one of those cheap tiny mini-PCs inside running B3X, or a connector for it running on an iPad… Hmmmm!

[stoken6]

7 hours ago, Adam Burgess said:

The broken Numa Organ 2 that's sitting underneath the Triton above, is gonna turn into a 61 key organ controller.

The TP-8O keybed is still fine; was the rest of the circuit boards that are just eaten away. 

Make sure you give it the option for high trigger MIDI! Where are you sourcing the electronics/scanner/MIDI conversion from?

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Adam Burgess]

7 hours ago, stoken6 said:

Make sure you give it the option for high trigger MIDI! Where are you sourcing the electronics/scanner/MIDI conversion from?

 

Cheers, Mike.

That's a good point - thank you! 

I was looking at the https://doepfer.de/MKE.htm module, just cause it works out of the box with Fatar keybeds. Looking at the manual, it doesn't seem at first glance to have any triggering options, but, will a fixed velocity just register anything as a hit using the first contact? Don't know if it would still needs both contacts.

But, I'll mail Doepfer. I reckon they could mod the module if the fixed 127 velocity doesn't do it.
 

It's amazing how many little things that you miss when alone with a blank canvas. It's easy to go straight to Homer SImpson's car design school, though 😉

Really makes you appreciate how much work goes into a production model. Just the sheer number of parts in a weighted Korg, say, is amazing. The keybed has around 500 individual parts. The metalwork for the sub-frame is so intricate and well done, as are the hundreds of specialised plastic parts, and no-one is really ever supposed to see it.